Tibial fractures, such as a tibial shaft fracture, can occur between an ankle and a knee joint of a patient. Fractures of the tibia can be serious due to their potential for nonunion, malunion, or long-term dysfunction, as well as their propensity for open injury. Although some tibial fractures can be repaired by a long leg cast, other tibial fractures, such as fractures that have displaced or altered an angulation of the tibia, can require surgery to secure one or more bone portions.
Existing surgical methods to repair a tibial fracture are invasive. Methods for repairing an anterior tibial shaft fracture can include, for example, inserting an intramedullary rod, such as a tibial rod or a tibial nail, through a tibial plateau and into an intramedullary canal of a tibia. These anterior methods include placing a leg in flexion, such that a knee joint is bent at an angle less than about 150° and greater than about 30° of flexion. The flexion state of the knee joint presents a surgeon with a large number of muscles around the surgical site, which increases the invasiveness of the method and the post-operation pain or recovery time. For example, the anterior tibial shaft fracture repair method can include splitting a patellar tendon to access the tibial plateau or cutting through a fat pad of the knee joint.